


If You Love Something (Set It Free)

by Telaryn



Series: Second Chances [10]
Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Angel: the Series, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Leverage
Genre: Crossover, Family, Fugitives, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, On the Run, Season/Series 03-04 Hiatus, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-27
Updated: 2016-09-27
Packaged: 2018-08-18 06:10:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8151800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Telaryn/pseuds/Telaryn
Summary: Daisy accepts the pain that comes with over-using her powers as her due, but if things go too far she'll be entirely at SHIELD's mercy.  Luckily there's still a place she can retreat to in time of need, and a family that will always take her in.Problem is, SHIELD knows it too.





	

**Author's Note:**

> This 'verse is an outgrowth of my "Ties That Bind Job" stories, which means the relationships get a little involved. If you're not interested in reading the rest of the stories in this series yet, what you need to know is that Faith the Vampire Slayer is the biological daughter of Nathan Ford, the mastermind of Team Leverage.
> 
> Daisy is Faith's cousin on her mother's side.

“That’s close enough,” Faith warned the pair entering the pub. Eliot was already facing them, giving the two SHIELD agents his best death glare, but they weren’t here for him.

They were here for Faith. Or more specifically who they thought she was hiding.

The older of the two – formerly “Director” Phil Coulson, met her reflected gaze in the mirror behind the bar. “I appreciate a dramatic gesture as much as the next person,” he said, his tone mild with a hint of amusement, “but could we do this face to face?”

Her point made, Faith pivoted on her stool until she was facing them as well. “You’ve got no business here, boys.”

Coulson’s partner, a tall, impressive specimen that Clint had told her went by the name of “Mack”, took a half-step forward. “You don’t really expect us to believe she hasn’t been here, do you?”

“You are her closest living relative,” Coulson added. “Faith please – we don’t want to hurt her. You have to know that.”

Clint had told her pretty much the same thing, before she’d convinced him to leave. _He was smart enough to go without a fight,_ she thought, sliding off the stool and sizing up Mack. _How smart are you?_ “My cousin’s a big girl, gentlemen. She decides she wants to get in touch with SHIELD, I’m sure she remembers how.”

“And that’s all the discussion we’re going to have on that subject,” Eliot interjected. Faith heard a small exhalation of breath, followed by the whisper of fabric across polished wood, and knew that the hitter had leapt the bar. 

_Show off_ , she thought, barely managing to suppress a smile. “It’s time for you gentlemen to be on your way,” Eliot added, coming up on her left. “Like the lady said, you’ve got no business here.”

Faith shot him a grin. “Lady, huh?”

He shrugged. “For certain flexible values of ‘lady’.” Scowling, Faith swatted him lightly on the stomach.

“I don’t recall seeing that you’ve signed the Accords, Faith,” Coulson said. His hand was drifting uncomfortably close to the butt of his weapon. Faith thought it was probably one of SHIELD’s patented ‘icers’, but holstered as it was she couldn’t be certain. “Come with us back to HQ, and we can take care of it.”

Eliot snorted. “Yeah, like that’s going to happen.”

“You’re being insulting, Coulson,” Faith said, meeting the older man’s gaze squarely. “You know I’m not going on the registry, and you know why.”

Mack drew his weapon then. “Thing is, we’re not really asking.”

 _Icer_ , Faith realized, her tension level immediately ratcheting down. Coulson reached out to rest a hand on his partner’s arm. “Mack, don’t. We don’t have any data on what dendrotoxin does to a Slayer. Not to mention this is a little too public for my taste.” He glanced around the dining room to make his point. The pub was empty, but Faith knew that could change at any moment.

“We’re not the bad guys, Faith,” Coulson said, drawing her attention again. “When you see Daisy, please remind her of that.”  
*******************************  
“Can you trust this guy?” Daisy looked up at her uncle, wondering for the millionth time if she’d made a mistake reaching out to her cousin’s odd little family. The pain in her forearms had been steadily growing, however, to a point where she knew she had to get ahead of it.

Contacting Faith had been a risk, but her cousin had managed to stay off most radars for a very long time, and she was surrounded by people who were arguably the best in the world at circumventing all levels of law enforcement. One of these was Faith’s father – the ‘mastermind’ of their strange little family, and Daisy’s uncle. Nathan Ford had met her at a coffee shop in downtown Portland, and taken her immediately to a warehouse on the outskirts of the city. “SHIELD’s been watching Faith for nearly six weeks,” he’d told Daisy before she could even ask the question. “Clint Barton’s already paid a visit asking about you.”

The fact that she was being tracked by an actual Avenger – Coulson’s lover, no less – wasn’t unexpected, but Daisy still felt a pang of guilt at drawing the others into her mess. “I’m sorry,” she said again.

Ford smiled at her. “Nothing to apologize for.” Which she knew wasn’t entirely true – the blond thief Parker, who actually owned the warehouse and used it as a safe house for herself, had made it very clear that she didn’t like strangers in her hideout. Concessions had been made for Daisy as “family”, but the arrival of the doctor Nate had called in had prompted a tense discussion ostensibly just out of Daisy’s hearing.

The doctor had brought a portable X-ray machine, and after asking her an exhaustive list of questions, had taken nearly a dozen pictures of her arms. Now he approached them, tablet in hand. “Your uncle said I couldn’t ask you what you’ve been doing,” he said, toeing over a chair and taking a seat opposite her. He spun the tablet to show them the image. “Whatever it is, you need to stop.”

Reaching across Daisy, Nate took the tablet so he could get a closer look. “I calculate over two hundred micro-fractures,” the doctor went on. He pointed to a dark line bisecting the forefinger of her right hand. “This one is getting ready to actually split the bone in half vertically, and you don’t even want to know how much rehab that will involve, assuming you can even get full use of it back.” He drew a deep breath. “My best recommendation is to cast both arms and splint the most damaged fingertips. I’m sorry, but I don’t see any other way.”

Perversely, Daisy had expected the news to be worse. Her mind was already racing ahead, thinking of things SHIELD had available that would help speed her body’s own natural healing process. Before he’d died, Lincoln had hinted that there were things she could do with her powers as well, but Daisy didn’t feel comfortable trying them on herself without someone she trusted to help her. _Pills it is, then,_ she thought, making a mental note to reach out to YoYo.

“Thank you, Doctor, but no cast,” she said finally. Daisy half expected her uncle to try and intervene, but Nate’s expression didn’t shift at all. “I appreciate you showing me what’s going on – I have other resources I can tap.”

She didn’t know what to think about the fact that no one seemed to be surprised at her decision. The three of them talked for a few more minutes, then Nate and Parker escorted the doctor to the door. Daisy watched them go, wondering dimly if she dared risk catching a quick nap before getting back on the road.

“I know that look.” Sophie Devereaux, her uncle’s girlfriend, and the family’s grifter, moved closer to Daisy’s perch. “That’s the look Eliot and Faith get when they’re planning on ignoring good advice.”

Daisy dropped her gaze briefly. “Sophie…”

The dark-haired beauty sat on the edge of the bed. “Faith asked us not to pressure you, but would you consider staying with us for a while? At least until you have a chance to heal yourself?”

Daisy hugged her bruised arms across her stomach. “I can’t,” she said, trying and failing to meet Sophie’s gaze. “I appreciate what you’re saying – I really do – but I’ve already put you guys at risk just by coming here. Nate said that they’re watching Faith. That’s more trouble than you guys need.”

“But not more trouble than we can handle,” Nate said, returning just in time to hear what she’d said. “Faith would tell you the same, Daisy. You have a home here, with us. I think on some level you know that, otherwise you wouldn’t be here now.”

She hadn’t expected it to hurt, hearing the words. “You don’t know what I’ve done,” she told her uncle. “It’s better for everybody if I go.”

Nate studied her for a long moment. “We’re not going to do anything to try and keep you here,” he said finally, “but I want Eliot to make sure you get out of town safely.”  
***********************************  
“Faith sends her love,” Eliot said, getting into the passenger side of the battered van. “And a message that even if you can bring down a mountain with your brain now, it’s still her job to protect you, not the other way around.”

He surprised a smile out of Daisy, which reassured him. Faith’s cousin was at a critical juncture after everything that had happened. She was inherently a good person – one of the purest souls he’d ever met, truth be told – and if she didn’t start facing some hard truths about the world she’d committed herself to, she was going to destroy herself chasing a redemption that would never come in life. “Turn right at the end of the block,” he told her. “Go to Spruce and turn right again.”

Nodding, Daisy started the van and shifted it into gear. Eliot remained silent until she’d followed his instructions. “Left,” he said, pointing to the next intersection, “and then right again.”

“You know you’re fighting a losing battle, right?” he said after a long moment of silence. He gestured at the expanse of bruised skin. “I’ve been where you’re sitting. So has Faith. You’re trying to atone for whatever sin it is you think you’ve committed; thing is, redemption isn’t in the cards.”

“Faith told me once that it was the journey that was important, not whether or not she managed to balance some kind of cosmic scale.” Eliot could see a small furrow between the girl’s fine, dark brows. She hadn’t been able to admit to Faith what she’d done yet, but her behavior patterns were so familiar Eliot could walk them in his sleep.

“Your cousin is a very smart woman,” he said. “Smarter than she gives herself credit for. Human life isn’t a zero sum gain, Daisy. You can’t make it all right that you killed one person by saving another one – it doesn’t work that way.”

Even in the fading light, Eliot could see the whites of Daisy’s eyes flush red. A single tear slid down the curve of her cheek. “So how do you make the pain stop?”

Eliot blew out a quiet breath. “Pain heals all on its own, whether it’s physical, emotional, or spiritual. You help people – save people – because it’s the right thing to do, and because you were given the ability to do it better and on a larger scale than most people.”

She glanced at him then, a hint of a smile playing around her lips. “With great power, comes great responsibility?”

It was the hitter’s turn to laugh. “Just because it’s a cliché doesn’t mean it’s not true.” He paused. “Just remember that it’s about doing the right thing for its own sake, not for whatever reward you get out of it.”

He pointed ahead. “Pull over there. Nobody’s tailing you – you should be clean to the interstate.”

As the van rolled to a stop at the curb, Eliot went to undo his seatbelt. Daisy stopped him, with a hand on his arm. “Thanks.”

Smiling gently, he reached across and tweaked her nose. “You’re going to be okay, runt. You get into something you can’t handle you call – understand me?”

Looking better than she had since her arrival in Portland, Daisy nodded. “I will.”


End file.
